Pages

Saturday, 30 March 2013

NIPER students threaten to go on hunger strike

Express news service : Chandigarh, Sat Mar 30 2013

A day after the students of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) held a protest against the director of the institute, Professor KK Bhutani, the students have threatened the management that they will go on an indefinite hunger strike. This move came after the management refused to accept certain demands of the students which were discussed in two meetings which were held on Friday.

A two-hour long morning meeting was held between the students and management Friday. The students had demanded that the higher authorities should take back the orders issued to sack Dr Parikshat Bansal, head of the Intellectual Property Rights Department.

Dr Bansal told Newsline, "I went with the students. Many issues were raised by the students regarding the placements and hostel facilities. However, when the question of my termination and that of another professor came up, the director chose not to respond".

One of the students of NIPER said, "The director told us in the evening meeting that a five-member committee has been formed to look into the problems which we had put forth to the director. We are yet deciding when we have to visit the panel. Also, if our demands are not met, the protest shall continue".

Dr Bansal also said that the students were worried about their semester. "Dr Neeraj Kumar (who was terminated last week) had 18 students who were working under him. Even I have a lot of students. All the students will suffer after our termination," said Dr Bansal.

However, Professor KK Bhutani termed the entire process of the termination of the faculty members as a routine procedure. "The contracts for these professors had ended. It is not a termination but it is an expiry of his contract which has not been renewed. For the other issues, a five member committee has been formulated by the Board of Governors (BOG) and the issues will be sorted," said Professor Bhutani.